Theodore butler



(No Model.)

T. BUTLER. AUTOMATIC SIPHON FOR GISTERNS.

No. 425,859. vlaeuted Apr. 15, 1890.

l l l l :'l I- L (fw 42mm@ fff UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE BUTLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE J. L` MOTT IRON W'ORKS, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC SIPHON FOR CISTERNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,859, dated April 15, 1890. Application filed January 29, 1890 Serial No.338,474=. (No model.)

To all whom) it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDoRE BUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Si-4 phon for Cisterns, of which the following is a speeiication.

Cisterns have heretofore been made in which water is ailowedto run in a gradual stream, and from which the water is discharged periodically by the action of a float and siphon, the object being to flush a watereloset or urinal automatically.

lVly present improvement relates to the combination, with a peculiar siphon, of a ioat at one side, in which is an opening, and connected with this float is a secondary or auxiliary float that serves the purpose of turning the float, so that the opening therein is kept above the surface of the rising water inthe cistern until the upward movement of the lloat is arrested, after which and as the vwater rises it pours in through the said opening, and the float falls and the siphon is brought into action to discharge the water and flush the closet or urinal, and as the cistern becomes nearly emptied the secondary loat serves as a weight to turn the main lloat and empty the water out of the same preparatory to the operations being repeated. v

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical crossseetion showing my improvements, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the `floats and lever.

A represents a cistern of any well-known construction, and B a stand-pipe above a coupling C and rising within the cistern, and D is a cock upon its upper end, through which a stream of water ot any desired size is allowed to iiow constantly into the cistern.

The siphon is composed of the following parts, viz: an inner tube a, rising to a seat at 1 and at its lower end connected to a coupling-tube h, externally threaded and having a flange 2, and passing through the bottom of the eistern, to which it is held by a nut 3, there being putty or washers between the parts. From the coupling c d a pipe passes to the closet or urinal. There is an outer tube c, having openings at its lower end, throughwhich the Water in the cistern passes to rise between the tubes a e. A tubular vthe pivots cover or cap f is screwed upon the upper end of the tube e, and the same has a reduced portion f', upon which are arms 1l, to which the lever l is pivoted at 10. .The pipe h is movable vertically, being guided by the stem h', that passes through the cap f', and this pipe t has around it a valve 7, that closes upon the upper end of the standing tube ct, and this pipe h has perforations 6 for allowing water to run off or overiow in case of the apparatus being out of order. The upper end of the stem 7L is mortised for the end of the lever Z. At the outer forked end 7c of this lever Z is the float t', that is received between the pivots S at the ends of the fork, and said float t has connected permanently to it an auxiliary float t. The loatis slotted at 9 on the extreme edge line of. its rotation adjacent to the auxiliary float t', to permit water to flow into and lill the float z.

The operation is as follows, presuming that the oat is in the position shown in Fig. 1 by dotted lines, with the valve-seat 5 elevated against the cap and the valve 7 raised above the seat 1 at the upper end of the tube a, and Water ilowing into and gradually filling the eistern by the cock D: .As the water rises in the eistern, the floats t t move upwardly, the float i moving faster than the float t and turning the float t' on l 8, and the lever Z swinging on the pivot v10, and the pipe 7L graduallydescending. The float t" turns the float t, so as to keep the slot 9 therein above the surface of the water flowing into the cistern. The floats t' t" gradually reach the position shown in full lines, Fig. 1, where the movement is stopped by the valve 7 closing on the seat 1 at vthe top of the tube ct, and at this point the water passes around and over the float t' and within the same through the slot 9. The float t' ills and sinks rapidly and elevates the pipe 71, oft the seat 7, and starts the Siphon by permitting the water to flow over the top of and down the pipe a and away to the closet or urinal to be flushed. As the cistern becomes nearly empty, the auxiliary float t acts as a weight to turn the iloat 't on its pivots and discharge its contents into the cistern preparatory to the operations being repeated.

IOO

The Water discharges by the Siphon faster than it flows in by the cock D; hence the seal can be readily broken beneath the lower end of the tube e and the siphon stopped previous to repeating the operations heretofore described.

Should the parts become inoperative, the openings 6 in the pipe 7L provide an overow for the Water, so that the eistern is not filled to overowing.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, With a eistern,-and the Water-supplying device for the same, and a valve controlling the discharge, of a float with an openin g in it,alever and connections from the ioat to the valve, pivots upon which the fioat is permitted to partially revolve, and an auxiliary oat connected with the main float to act as a Weight in tipping the iloat. to dischargeV the Water therefrom as the eistern is emptied, and as a fioat to keep the opening into the main viioat above water as the cistern fills, substantially as specified.

2. The eombination,with a eistern, a pipe for admitting Water, the tubes a and e, the cap f, and portion f of the pipe h and stem h having the valve at their lower end, and overflow-openings at 6, the pivoted lever Z, and forked arm k, the connected oats 'L' i', pivoted in the forked arms, and the float t', slotted at 9, for the purposes and substantially as set; forth.

Signed by me this 22d day of January, A.

THEODORE BUTLER. Witnesses:

GEO. C. GOELLER, HENRY J. QUINPEL. 

